APO shipping questions

I will be shipping a flashlight, to an APO address, for the first time. I know he's in Iraq. I'm shipping Priority Mail with Delivery Confirmation and Insurance.

Does the Insurance and Delivery Confirmation end, once it gets to the APO, in the states?

Which Customs form do I use, if the value is over $131?

Can I ship candy and snackbars, or is food not allowed?

Can I ship SR123A Lithium Batteries?

Please, no guessing! I want this flashlight to get through to him.

Thanks for your help!

oldgrandpajack

Yes! and NO

- the Delvery Confirmation ends in New York.

- The Insurance will continue as long as you retain the reciept from the Post office.

- You will need to fill out Customs Declaration and Dispatch Note - CP 72 (big white one)
- it is an easy form to fill out

- you MAY send candy and food products (most military will share so be generous!)

- You may send SR123A Lithium Batteries (the batterystation sends them to me all the time)

No guessing here, I currently live at an APO AE address overseas and I do get flashlights here. it may take a while for it to get there but don't be discourages APO is code or really slow mail..lol so it most likely will take a couple of weeks at best.

doug

Delivery Confirmation is always hit or miss depending on the local community mail room. I have picked up many packages with the green return receipt requested still attached, and it was really up to me if I gave it back to them. The insurance would be valid the entire way.

There are two customs forms at the post office (and online) I would go ahead and use the larger of the two as it also has larger clearer sections to indicate package contents and sender/receiver addresses. You can also access the forms on the USPS.com website (just search under customs forms).

Food is not an issue, but do not ship alcohol or anything that might spoil.
I have an APO address in Germany, and ordering batteries hasn't been an issue. If you are shipping a light to Iraq, I would consider a backup LED module as batteries can get a bit scarce at times.

Doug:

Thank you very much. I will close it up now, and finish sealing it up.

oldgrandpajack

You might want to ask him to send you an email once the package arrives. I love in Germany with an APO address and deploy to Iraq all the time. I've had packages arrive in as little as two days from Germany using the APO mail system. The fastest stateside to Iraq is about a week. Depending on what is going on it Iraq at the time, i.e. troop redeployments, movements, etc. it can take a while longer. You might want to be a bit generic on the content descriptions. If you list a Surefire E2D on the Custom's label, it might not get to the intended person. "Flashlight" and "Chocolate Candy" are acceptable descriptions. I've been pretty lucky with honest postal clerks, but others I know have been less fortunate. Insured shipments will at least let you recover the cost should your package grow legs and walk away.

RadarGreg

Very good point greg I forgot about being generic about what's in it.

doug

For what it's worth,
Pack it real well.

My base was in the 'sticks' about two hours S of Baghdad.
Our mail came in a conex container on the back of a Hemmet Truck.

To unload the container, it was tipped 45 degrees from flat, so all the mail holders would slide and bang into the doors of the conex. Stuff used to arrived beaten up and smashed rather often.

Someplace i have a photo of this delivery, if someone wants to post it, shoot me a note and I will send the photo.

Later guys
Jack Crow in the first world.

[ QUOTE ]
Jack_Crow said:
For what it's worth,
Pack it real well. Stuff used to arrived beaten up and smashed rather often.

Jack Crow in the first world.

[/ QUOTE ]



Jack:

I did my best. When I finished, the oversized box was like a solid block of balsa wood. Used almost a whole 50 meter roll of 2" clear, heavy duty shipping tape. More than two complete and interlaced (90 degrees opposed) layers of tape. Plus the edges, seams, and perimeter were covered with tape first. It's also overstuffed with foam packing peanuts, and there are six layers of bubble wrap on the Surefire box. It would have to be blown up, burned, run over by a tank, or stolen, to not make it, intack. It could be used as a floatation device, if the aircraft went down over water. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Thanks for the heads up!

oldgrandpajack

Unfortunately, sometimes the mail trucks do get blown up. I've heard of packages showing up perforated from schrapnel or with an odd bullet hole or two inside. Clearly, this is not the norm, but I guess the insurgents do not fear the wrath of the postmaster general. I'm sure your package will arrive and some lucky soldier will be grinning from ear to ear with his new flashlight! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinser2.gif

RadarGreg

I sent my wife a set of 123's when she was over there and forgot to waterproof the pack = foamy /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif

At least it didn't blow up!

If anybody knows how to pack, then it's oldgrandpajack, trust me! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/happy14.gif